JAMES M. MASKELL ESSAYS, FICTION, & POETRY
Writing Portfolio
Nonfiction
First published in The Argyle Magazine Issue 4, "Act Accordingly" is a true account of just one of many things that can go unexpectedly wrong while teaching at a public high school.
First published by Quarter Press in Quarter(ly) Issue 13: This is Where We Are Now, "Did You Get the Tickets?" explores how buying tickets to a show has drastically changed over the past few decades.
First published in Volume 28 of Waccamaw: A Journal of Contemporary Literature, "Every Time She Moves" is about a day at the beach being interrupted by a nearby malfunctioning bathing suit.
Originally published in Volume 6 of Windmill: The Hofstra Journal of Art and Literature, "In the Backyard" details a key moment in the relationship I shared with my father.
"The Record Keeper," first published in Volume 5 of Drexel University's Paper Dragon, details a moment when I snuck into my brother's room to gaze at his record collection.
The editorial staff of Windmill was kind enough to include me in their Windmill Writers series as they asked about my process in writing "In the Backyard."
Fiction
This story will be published in the first issue of 13 Tracks Magazine which is scheduled to be released in The Netherlands in May of 2025. (Print only for now) It is inspired by the song "In and Out of Sight" by The Horrors.
"Henry" is my tribute to James Joyce. It was published in the December 2024 edition of The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature.
"The Good Neighbor" is a brief, disquieting trip into a neighbor's basement. It was first published on November 22, 2024 by Every Day Fiction.
"Ceremonial Rains" is about grief, its solitary nature, and how we never really grieve in the exact same way as someone else. It was first published in the August 2024 edition of Bright Flash Literary Review.
"A Renewal" is my first attempt at a bit of a haunted tale. It was published by the British journal Crow and Cross Keys on April 24, 2024.
"Suburban Laureate " was inspired by an experience my father had when I was very young. I decided to craft a completely fictional story around that moment. It was originally published in the first issue of
Vita and the Woolf.
"A Parting Gift" was inspired by the song "Everybody Loves Christmas" by Seattle artist and music producer, Nat Bayne. Listen to both (and give it a read) on the Dance Cry Dance Break podcast.
Originally published in the Lucky Jefferson 365 Collection, "Sundown" is the brief account of an adult son calming his elderly mother who suffers from dementia.
Poetry
First published in the Spring 2024 "Happy Poems" edition of Poemeleon: A Journal of Poetry, "August 16, 1977" is an English sonnet capturing the magic of my favorite photograph of my dad and me.
"The Windchimes: a Villanelle" was originally published in the "Renewal" issue of Assignment: The Literary Magazine of Mountainview MFA on June 20, 2024. It appears on page 42 of the issue linked above.
Originally published in issue 11 of Loud Coffee Press, "For the Record," an homage to vinyl records, is the very first thing I ever published. The issue appears as a single PDF. "For the Record" appears on page 25,
